Community groups meet with DOJ for the first time in APD probe

Various representatives from community activist groups met with members of the U.S. Department of Justice Tuesday night. It was the first opportunity anyone has had to get an update on the probe into the Albuquerque Police Department since the investigation started in 2012.

While media was not permitted inside the meeting, those who were invited told KOB Eyewitness News 4 that the investigation was nearing an end. The DOJ gave no timeline when their investigation into APD would wrap up, only saying that they were in the final stages.

The representatives inside the meeting said they were permitted to voice their concerns and ask any question they had, although DOJ representatives couldn’t always give a clear answer.

The DOJ announced in 2012 that it was investigating APD looking for a pattern or practice of civil rights violations. The investigation was triggered by a number of high profile cases of police brutality and excessive force as well as three dozen officer-involved shootings, many of them fatal.

Police Chief Ray Schultz retired late last year and the City is now looking nationally for a new chief. The community representatives told KOB-TV that they hope Mayor Richard Berry will wait until after the DOJ’s investigation is completed before appointing a new leader for the department.